Rating: Liked.Did I finish?: I did! One-sentence summary: Five children of coal-mining immigrants grow up in 1940s Pennsylvania, impacted by the war, the loss of their father, and the changing world around them.Reading Challenges:Historical Fiction

Do I like the cover?: I do, immensely -- it could easily be one of the Novak girls, on a borrowed car -- it sets up the mood of this volume very well.

I'm reminded of...: Ellen Feldman

First line: Softly the snow falls.

Am... I still thinking about this book, days after finishing?: YES. I suspect as time goes on, it will stick with me, and I'm pretty sure I'll need at least one reread.

Why did I get this book?: I've heard nothing but good things about Haigh's books, and the 1940s coal town setting of this novel immediately appealed to me.

Review: This is a good book that becomes great; or maybe it was always great, and it just snuck up on me. I lingered over this novel, picking it up and now, since the chapters vary in length and POV. It was easy to dip in and out of the Novaks' lives, but Haigh's writing style and gentle characterizations kept me coming back.

Set in Bakerton, a coal-mining town in Western Pennsylvania, Haigh paints a picture of the Novak family, Polish-Italian immigrants who struggle to chart their own existence in a place where most people live and die in the mines. Beginning in the 1940s, with World War II looming in the background, the story travels about twenty years or so. This isn't a quiet novel, not exactly -- there's plenty of characters and plenty of life happening -- but the book doesn't race along with a single plot line. One hundred pages in, I wondered when the story would start; about 200 pages in, I worried about the story ending.

The story of the Novaks is familiar but that isn't a bad thing. Haigh shares with us an American narrative that has become mythologized; in her hands, I see myself, my family, my relatives, my neighbors in the Novak's story. My only complaint (but that's too strong a word since I'm not actually unhappy) was the shifting focus -- I would have rather the novel stayed with one of the Novak kids rather than shift focus -- but Haigh's writing kept me going on.

This is a novel that lingers with the reader. A week after finishing, I find myself still chewing over scenes or characters, and I've more than once wished there was a sequel of sorts so I could remain with the Novaks. If you want something meaty but not heavy or hard, consider this -- it is easy to get into and it's moving without feeling soul-crushing.

*** *** ***

GIVEAWAY!

I'm thrilled to be able to offer TWO copies of Baker Towers to my readers! To enter,fill out this brief form. Open to US/CA readers, ends 2/24.

Anna -- I thought of you when reading this -- it's not exactly what I'd call a WWII novel but the characters are lightly affected by it -- it's more about this town than the war. Still, WWII is there, in the background, and Haigh's storytelling is wonderful. Her passages about the young girl who joins the Air Force are heartbreaking.

Col -- it's really worth picking up. I'm still thinking about the characters, I even reread the last few chapters to linger with the feel of the story, and I suspect this will rank high on my reads for the year. Would love to hear what you think of it if you end up picking it up!

I just read an amazing review of this one the other day, and am so excited about it! I do think it's something that I would enjoy, and I have been wanting to try out something from Haigh for a long time. This was an excellent review, and I am so glad that you loved this one. It sounds perfect for me!

I haven't read any of Ms. Haigh's books yet, but this one has been on my wish list. Your review of it reminds me of STORMY WEATHER by Paulette Jiles -- a good, solid story that gets you thinking without getting you down. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!

After just finishing Haigh's Faith a bit ago, she's definitely on my own Authors To Watch list! I absolutely loved her story -- heartbreaking, beautiful, memorable -- and definitely want to read her backlist soon. Baker Towers goes on the list!

My father's family is from coal country, and my parents were in the military, and Haigh's characters reminded me greatly of my family and our immigrant story. It was reassuring and moving to read this book -- such a delight.

Ever since I read her terrific book Faith I have thought about reading Haigh's other books and got stuck on which one to read next! Thank you for helping me decide with your delightful review! The Condition sounds like the kind of book I love to read. I enjoy the way Haigh writes and I'm excited that this book stayed with you after you finished it and while you were reading it, too, making it a book you could put down and pick up again, falling right back into the story (as opposed to almost forgetting what the story was about!). You basically had me when you wrote that you were reminded of Ellen Feldman since I still think about Next to Love, a book I loved! I'm looking forward to your thoughts on Faith!

Amy -- yours is one of the reviews that made me accept Faith for review -- I remember how much you enjoyed it. You totally need to pick up Baker Towers -- it's very much post-WWII, like Next to Love and reminded me greatly of that, in the best way. Delish!

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It looks like I've read 33 books this year, which is five less than last year. But given the crazy amounts of stress and drama that hit me in 2018, I'm frankly delighted with this count.

Ten of my 33 reads were by authors of color. Six of my 33 reads were penned by male-identified authors. Nine reads were not novels: one play, three volumes of poetry, two memoirs, two collections of essays, and a graphic novel.

I achieved a wopping zero on reading challenges, which I aim to change in 2019. Mostly by committing myself to two (Read Harder and Historical Fiction) and really diversifying my reading. And reading more, you know, than I had this year. (Re-frame: This year I knit 8 items, which is a 2000% improvement over other years. So, small perk of reading less!)

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge is my favorite challenge of the year! (Although it's really not a challenge for me to read historical fiction, so I mostly use this "challenge" to make myself feel great.)

Since I've been diversifying my reading the last year or two, I'm not reading as much historical fiction as I have, so I'm not going to aim for the 50+ designation this year. I'm going to go for 'Ancient History - 25' books.

Some historical novels I'm hoping to read in 2019 include Nisi Shawl's Everfair, anything by Cat Sebastian that I haven't read yet (so maybe any 2019 releases, I think...!), Stephanie Thornton's upcoming release, American Princess, and Madeline Miller's Circe, which I didn't get to this year.

This weekend I won't be reading since my family will be attending the New Bedford Whaling Museum's annual Moby Dick Marathon, a weekend event where passionate fans read Moby Dick aloud.

Moby Dick is my wife's all time favorite book so when we discovered this event, it immediately became an annual affair for us. This is our fifth year going, and my wife is an official reader for her second year in a row. She's very excited.

I'm not a Moby Dick fan but I do love geeks, and it's impossible not to enjoy this when surrounded by passionate fans. The read happens at the museum, which only enhances the story, and there are all kinds of fun nods to the story -- there's a celebrity Ishmael to open the reading every year, the mayor reads the section of Ishmael walking thru Bedford, and the worship scene happens at the Seaman's Bethel, etc.

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I'm a nearly-40 married lesbian with a farmer wife and bookish kid. I've a thing for literary fiction and historical novels. But I'm also having a pretty torrid affair with gritty noir and some fantastical fiction. I love interesting heroines, gorgeous prose, place as character, and the occasional werewolf.

Popular posts from this blog

It looks like I've read 33 books this year, which is five less than last year. But given the crazy amounts of stress and drama that hit me in 2018, I'm frankly delighted with this count.

Ten of my 33 reads were by authors of color. Six of my 33 reads were penned by male-identified authors. Nine reads were not novels: one play, three volumes of poetry, two memoirs, two collections of essays, and a graphic novel.

I achieved a wopping zero on reading challenges, which I aim to change in 2019. Mostly by committing myself to two (Read Harder and Historical Fiction) and really diversifying my reading. And reading more, you know, than I had this year. (Re-frame: This year I knit 8 items, which is a 2000% improvement over other years. So, small perk of reading less!)

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge is my favorite challenge of the year! (Although it's really not a challenge for me to read historical fiction, so I mostly use this "challenge" to make myself feel great.)

Since I've been diversifying my reading the last year or two, I'm not reading as much historical fiction as I have, so I'm not going to aim for the 50+ designation this year. I'm going to go for 'Ancient History - 25' books.

Some historical novels I'm hoping to read in 2019 include Nisi Shawl's Everfair, anything by Cat Sebastian that I haven't read yet (so maybe any 2019 releases, I think...!), Stephanie Thornton's upcoming release, American Princess, and Madeline Miller's Circe, which I didn't get to this year.

This weekend I won't be reading since my family will be attending the New Bedford Whaling Museum's annual Moby Dick Marathon, a weekend event where passionate fans read Moby Dick aloud.

Moby Dick is my wife's all time favorite book so when we discovered this event, it immediately became an annual affair for us. This is our fifth year going, and my wife is an official reader for her second year in a row. She's very excited.

I'm not a Moby Dick fan but I do love geeks, and it's impossible not to enjoy this when surrounded by passionate fans. The read happens at the museum, which only enhances the story, and there are all kinds of fun nods to the story -- there's a celebrity Ishmael to open the reading every year, the mayor reads the section of Ishmael walking thru Bedford, and the worship scene happens at the Seaman's Bethel, etc.

So, it's not my preferred read, but it'll do. What are you reading this weekend?

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